Football: Pearland cruises to 45-0 win over Cinco Ranch

Pearland's Robert Wilson (14) pulls down a pass over Cinco Ranch's Sam Owen(18) and Landon King (29) Friday at The Rig.

Pearland's Robert Wilson (14) pulls down a pass over Cinco Ranch's Sam Owen(18) and Landon King (29) Friday at The Rig.

Photo: Kirk Sides / Staff Photographer

Photo: Kirk Sides / Staff Photographer

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Pearland's Robert Wilson (14) pulls down a pass over Cinco Ranch's Sam Owen(18) and Landon King (29) Friday at The Rig.

Pearland's Robert Wilson (14) pulls down a pass over Cinco Ranch's Sam Owen(18) and Landon King (29) Friday at The Rig.

Photo: Kirk Sides / Staff Photographer

Football: Pearland cruises to 45-0 win over Cinco Ranch

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Three games into the 2019 football season, the Pearland Oilers have been afforded a glimpse of how good they are.

Now, head coach Ricky Tullos’s team gets two weeks to digest film to see how good the Oilers must become.

Quarterback J.D. Head threw three touchdown passes and Pearland’s defense smothered Cinco Ranch as the Oilers rolled to a 45-0 win in a non-district matchup at Pearland Stadium.

Head connected on touchdown passes of 53 yards to Cedric Mitchell, 8 yards to Jaden Piece and 78 yards to Jeremiah Aaron as Pearland (3-0) built a 31-0 halftime lead.

Cinco Ranch (0-3) managed just two first downs in the opening half and never threatened to score the entire game.

“We’re rolling, but we’ve got a lot to work on,” Head said. “There are a lot more games to be played, but I believe we have a bright future.

“I’m excited - the potential of this team is crazy, and I’m blessed to be a part of it and have these weapons all around me.”

Pearland scored all the points it would need on its second possession, driving just 25 yards after Brenden Stokes recovered a fumbled punt.

Oiler running back Brandon Campbell culminated the abbreviated drive with a 3-yard scoring run with 8:10 left in the opening period. Caleb Mendez kicked the first of his six PAT’s for a 7-0 cushion.

One possession later, the Oilers opened a 14-0 advantage, needing just three plays to cover 59 yards.

The last of those was Head’s 53-yard hookup with Mitchell, who outraced defensive pursuit to the end zone with 5:59 showing in the first quarter.

Pearland’s next march stalled at the Cinco Ranch 12-yard line, and Mendez was summoned to kicked a 29-yard field goal, which was good at 1:24 of the opening period as the bulge swelled to 17-0.

After Pearland forced the Cougars to punt for the fourth straight time, the Oilers navigated 58 yards in only three plays in building a 24-0 cushion.

Campbell burst through the line on first down, broke to the outside and was finally hauled down at the 8-yard line after a 50-yard run on first down.

Following an incomplete pass, Head fired a quick wide receiver screen pass to Piece, who made one nifty juke before sprinting into the end zone untouched to cap the drive at 11:01 of the second quarter.

Pearland’s final touchdown of the opening half originated from its 18 yard line with just 2:55 remaining in the second quarter.

Head hit Aaron for an 4-yard gainer on first down to the 22, and then the duo teamed up again on the next play for the 78-yard touchdown.

The flow of the play went to Head’s right, and then he threw back left to a wide open Aaron, who easily outraced all Cinco Ranch players to the end zone with 2:34 left in the half for a 31-0 score.

The Cougars couldn’t recover in the second half from that sizeable deficit.

“We did a lot of good things,” Pearland head coach Ricky Tullos said, “but there were some times we played inconsistent.

“We’d get rolling and then we’d make a mistake and not execute. Those are things that happen early in the season, and you have to eliminate those to execute at a high level.”

Pearland punched across a third-quarter score on Burgess’s one-yard run to cap a 7-play, 75-yard drive, highlighted by a 44-yard pass from Head to Robert Wilson.

The final Oiler touchdown came with six minutes left on an 8-yard run by Dominic Serna. Reserve quarterback Layne Roblyer engineered that 8-play, 88-yard march, which featured a 52-yard strike from Roblyer to Gianni Taisague.

“The O-line was awesome and the defense was great,” Head said. “Going into the open week kind of throws you off, but I’m always happy to have rest, and I’m sure we’ve got some guys nicked up.”

Now in his second year of running the Oiler offense, Head says he’s a more seasoned signal-caller.

“I’m older, more mature, and I feel in control of what’s going on,” he said. “Last year…I’m not saying it was fast because at the end of the day it’s just football.

“But having that experience helped a lot coming into this season.”

Following the open week, Pearland will take on Alief Taylor Sept. 27 at Alief ISD’s Crump Stadium.